WRAPUP 1-US labor market remains stable; services input price rises point to elevated inflation

What this means for your job search: Expect a more competitive hiring environment as companies become cautious due to anticipated interest rate hikes. Focus on clearly demonstrating your immediate value and impact to potential employers. The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week amid low layoffs pointing to stable labor market conditions that give the Federal Reserve room to focus on inflation stemming from the Middle East conflict The inflation headache was underscored by an Institute for Supply Management survey on Thursday showing a measure of prices paid by services businesses for inputs jumped to a three-year high in August which economists said suggested that recent inflation was not confined to the goods sector Rising price pressures have led economists to expect an interest rate hike from the US central bank by year end